Can Rubio lead on immigration reform?

January 16, 2013|William E. Gibson

Marco Rubio’s plan to allow many of the nation’s illegal immigrants to get work permits and remain in this country legally has drawn favorable comment from the White House, raising prospects that the Florida senator will play a leading role in reforming the immigration system.

Rubio’s ideas, disclosed in a series of interviews in Coral Gables with national media, “bode well for a productive, bipartisan debate,” White House press secretary Jay Carney told reporters on Tuesday.

“We hope that it signals a change in the Republican approach to this issue,” Carney said, “because if we are going to get this done, it’s going to take more than just a handful of Republicans working across the aisle.”

Rubio, a rising Republican star and tea party favorite, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday.

His plan is similar in some ways to President Obama’s position, but he stresses the need for foreign guest-worker programs to fill labor needs and tougher enforcement at the border and workplaces.

The most difficult political challenge is how to resolve the legal status of about 11 million illegal residents, an estimated 825,000 in Florida. Rubio’s proposal is to let them "earn" a working permit and eventually maybe citizenship.

"They would have to come forward," he told the Wall Street Journal. "They would have to undergo a background check. Anyone who committed a serious crime would be deported. They would be fingerprinted. They would have to pay a fine, pay back taxes, maybe even do community service. They would have to prove they've been here for an extended period of time. They understand some English and are assimilated. Then most of them would get legal status and be allowed to stay in this country."

Those who meet these qualifications could then apply for permanent residency, possibly leading to citizenship.

Rubio’s plan opens the way for a comprehensive overhaul and a potential grand bargain with Democrats.

The Florida senator has shown no signs of compromising with the White House, though he did sponsor bipartisan legislation that would allow highly skilled foreign students to remain in this country.